Fighting through tears, as his wife and two children sat in the studio off-camera, Brad Galli said his goodbyes to viewers and coworkers of WXYZ Channel 7 on Friday night.
After 15 years, Galli is leaving the station on his own accord for a venture that has yet to be publicly announced.
His last show was the 6 p.m. newscast Friday.
“I’ve been grateful for this opportunity and responsibility every day for my decade-and-a-half here at 7,” Galli said during his final segment, which came after he previewed the Pistons-Magic in Game 6. “The fact you choose to watch us nightly, that’s why being the sports guy on 7 has been a badge of honor.
“I know how precious time is, so your trust in us, your trust in me, that is something I take as a responsibility.
“My parents always had Channel 7 on, and I wanted to work here forever.”
Galli, who turns 37 next week, first applied and landed an internship at Channel 7 in 2009, while in college at Marquette. He joined the station full-time as a sports reporter in 2011, at the age of 21, after he graduated.
In 2015, after Tom Leyden left the station, Galli was promoted to sports anchor and eventually sports director, too.
Galli learned under a long and legendary list of Channel 7 fixtures, among them the late Don Shane, a Michigan Sports Hall-of-Famer. Galli thanked Shane, Leyden and many other coworkers, past and present, in front of the camera and behind it, during his farewell newscast Friday night.
“The relationships are real … and I don’t take it for granted for a second,” Galli, a two-time Emmy winner, said in his signoff from WXYZ’s Southfield studio. “I say thank you to, thank you to all of them, and thank you to all of you for watching. … I feel very, very lucky.
“Our family’s going to keep watching Channel 7.”
Galli, a Metro Detroit native who attended Birmingham Brother Rice, has only ever had one full-time employer, and that’s been Channel 7, Metro Detroit’s ABC affiliate. He built a large following, on television and social media, with his penchant for sitdown interviews with newsmakers (in sports, and also the world of entertainment) as well as his versatility. He was a key part of station’s Auto Show and Dream Cruise coverage.
Galli is expected to remain a part of the Detroit sports scene in his future venture. He said Friday night that he’s excited to share specific details about his future plans “very soon.”
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Fighting back tears, Brad Galli signs off WXYZ Channel 7 for last time
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
